Characterization of Indonesian Banana Species as an Alternative Cellulose Fibers

Abstract

The pseudostem of banana (Musa sp.) has a high value for fiber. In this study, we characterized two wild Musa acuminata, i.e., ssp. malaccensis (LIPI-030) (M1) and var. breviformis (LIPI-218) (M3), an accession of diploid M. acuminata cultivar “Pisang Rejang” (LIPI-048) (M2) and one accession M. balbisiana “Pisang Klutuk” (LIPI-054) (M4) for its chemical (including Syringyl (S) and Guaiacyl (G) ratio) physical and mechanical properties, fiber analysis, morphological analysis, functional groups, crystallinity, and thermal analysis. As a result, there are variations in chemical, physical, and mechanical properties, fiber length and diameter, crystallinity, and thermal analysis behavior for each banana species. “Pisang Klutuk” showed the most different characteristics compared to others. The cellulose content of all banana fibers has a close correlation with their tensile strength. Based on the fiber properties evaluation, var. breviformis (M3) has a tensile strength of 459.99 MPa, cellulose content of 33.30%, degree of crystallinity of 45.23%, degree of polymerization of 1199.15, and S/G ratio of 0.39 that suggested the most potential banana for fiber with high strength. The lignin S/G ratio of banana samples (M1-M2) showed a positive correlation with the degree of crystallinity and tensile strength, while it had a negative one with tensile modulus and strain. This study presented the importance of the S/G ratio and fiber properties that may aid the future application of Indonesian fiber in biomass conversion strategies.

Keywords

• wild banana
• fiber extraction
• fiber properties
• high strength
• s/g ratio s/g